In recent years problems with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and deceptive symptoms have occurred affecting the meat production industry. Systems are required to enable producers, meat processors and distributors to guarantee the safety of their products and to construct information management systems that enable safe products to be supplied to consumers.
The breeding of cattle and pigs etc. is mainly facilitated using artificial insemination employing semen obtained from breeding stock bulls and pigs and bloodline management is essential in order to maintain safety and product quality. Normally, seminal fluid from breeding stock bulls and pigs is apportioned in thin, tubular containers which are then subject to cool storage and when artificial insemination takes place the required number of these tubular containers are removed from a cool store vehicle. A lot of work goes into handling the information for identifying large volumes of these tubular containers, ascertaining when and from which animals the seminal fluid was acquired and then tracing the exact routes showing the processing and distribution of the domestic animals resulting from the breeding through to the products being delivered to consumers. Throughout these processes errors frequently occur.
Noncontact IC tags play an important role in these identification and management procedures. Noncontact IC tags are electronic devices that enable a variety of information to be written to or read from an IC chip using wireless transmission so that the information can be stored in a computer, managed and supplied to different people over a computer network. If for example an IC tag is affixed to a tubular container in advance it becomes possible to accurately manage the history information and identification of that container from the point in time at which seminal fluid is put into the container.
At the Gifu Prefectural Livestock Research Institute a traceability system has been developed for managing history information on production and distribution that enables management and tracing of cattle blood lines back to the stage of artificial insemination, by storage and management of frozen seminal fluid used for artificial insemination using tubular containers having a wireless IC tag attached. Usage of the system has commenced on an experimental basis (refer Oct. 13, 2005 edition of the Chunichi Shimbun).
The containers used for storing seminal fluid of domestic animals usually consist of a plastic container of about 2-3 mm in diameter, about 10-15 cm long of a tubular shape having a cotton plug at one end. An IC tag is attached at one end of the tubular container however this must be a small member of less than a few centimeters in order to ensure that the tag does not inhibit work and storage functions.
Wireless transmission technology is used in these noncontact IC tags. The international standard is that the operating frequency for such transmission is 13.56 MHz, 860-960 MHz or 2.45 GHz. The operation of the IC tag varies according to the frequency used and the features of a tag differ according to the size and transmission capabilities etc., however a relatively small size can be achieved for an IC tag operating in the 2.45 GHz band.
The aim however is to achieve satisfactory transmission capabilities in a tag of about 5 cm long, as there are concerns that a tag attached to the outside of a tubular container may obstruct handling of the container, while it must be able to withstand storage for a long time and be mechanically robust.
FIG. 1 shows an example of a tubular container with an IC tag attached on the outside. An IC tag 20 comprised of an IC chip 21 and a transmitting/receiving antenna 22 is attached on the surface of a tubular container 1. Seminal fluid of a domestic animal is inserted into the container from the end opposite the end having a cotton plug 6. After the seminal fluid is put into the container the end is sealed, before storage, either by thermal sealing or ultrasonic waves.
FIG. 2 shows another example of a tubular container with an IC tag attached on the outside. As the container end is sealed after seminal fluid is put inside the container the end of the IC tag 20 is secured inserted inside the end of the container.
In both configurations shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 however there is concern that if the IC tag attached to the outside of the tubular container is subject to obstruction during handling pressure may be applied on the IC tag from the outside causing damage.
Tasaki et al., the inventors of the present invention, have already submitted a miniature IC tag of 4 mm×3 mm (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-007583). In the case of this miniature IC tag however, it can be placed inside a tubular container, although as the radio wave transmission efficiency of the miniature antenna is poor the distance of transmission between the IC tag and the reading device is very limited leading to inferior read capabilities during processing.
The problems are not restricted to containers used for storing domestic animal semen. In recent years with the rapid advancement in biotechnology the same issues have arisen in the handling of large numbers of individual samples of different organisms. A system is required that enables storage and accurate history management of such samples.